Avoiding Responsibility
by CheeseCakeKitty15
Summary: Obi really isn't in the mood to work today. To be perfectly honest, he didn't want to do anything at all. So when Shirayuki and Zen come barging into his room to 1# Scold him for being late and 2# Get him to possibly do extra work for being so inexcusable behind schedule, he realizes that there's only one last thing he could try to get out of it... ONESHOT


**Hey Guys and Gals, CheeseCakeKitty15 here back again with a new story! HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL! YAY! So, I have been sucked into the 'Snow White with the Red Hair' fandom and I absolutely love Obi's character (hence he is my favourite in the entire show). To me, he just seems so ridiculously relatable: from his chilled out attitude to his playful smile. So I just came out with this little idea that I hope you all like!**

 **Disclaimer (I keep forgetting to do this so here we go): I do not own Snow White with the Red Hair or any of its characters. If I did, a third season would already be in development.**

 **I guess you could say that there's a tad Obi/Shirayuki, but I would say it's just fluff.**

 **Without further ado, let's get on with the story!**

A gentle breeze brushed over the sleeping boy's cheeks from the open window, stirring him from his deep slumber. He slowly blinked open his yellow, cat-like eyes and turned on his side, not wanting to get up. You see, Obi currently had a severe case of 'I-can't-be-bothered-to-do-anything-syndrome', which resulted in him not particularly wanting to do his daily duties around the castle and not even having the willpower to get out of bed. He stifled a small yawn with his pillow before snuggling further down into the blanket so that only the top of his messy black hair was visible. Curling up into a ball, he whispered to himself groggily,

"What time is it?"

He reached his gloved hand out to his small bedside table in a feeble attempt to locate the rectangular clock that Zen had lent him a few nights ago, as his previous one had been broken when Obi stubbed his toe against the side of the table, resulting in it crashing down like the execution of 'The Last Airbender', shattering into a million tiny pieces. After about 5 minutes of reaching around the table with no luck, Obi sighed and pulled down the blanket slightly, shuffling so that his full head was on his pillow once again. He squinted his eyes to read the time on the clock.

"10:00 am..."

He was late. Incredibly late. His master was _sure_ to throw a huge hissy-fit if he just rocked up to work now, more than two hours behind schedule. Normally, Obi would be up on his feet instantly upon discovering this and already rushing to work to give a heartfelt apology (even working overtime if he felt extra guilty).

Today, however, was different.

It seemed Obi's subconscious wasn't programmed to give a damn today, as he let out yet another sigh and turned over. In this current state of delirium, all he wanted to do was _sleep_. After all, the messenger had a rather late night yesterday of jumping from tree to tree and training by himself, resulting in him not getting back to his room until well after one in the morning.

" _Couldn't the Master give me a day off today?"_ he thought hopefully, _"Well, if nobody has come get me yet and its 10:00, I guess I can sleep some more…"_

Obi sluggishly turned around again, facing away from the door (he didn't want the first thing people to see when they walk in is him looking so vulnerable) and clutched the crimson blanket with his pale fingers. It just so happened, however, that the exact moment that he was about to fall into a peaceful, dreamless sleep, he was quickly snapped out of his daze by some very aggressive knocking on the door.

" _Just my luck."_ Obi thought despairingly, " _I knew they would come to get me eventually. Damn it! How the hell am I gonna get out of this?"_

"Obi!" Prince Zen boomed, "Are you in there? Open up please."

"Can you please let us in? You're very late to work. Is something the matter?" Shirayuki's voice then said shortly after in a calm tone, knocking on the door a little more just in case he didn't hear her.

The boy in question kept his mouth shut, hoping that that the pair of them would get bored and just go away. They were going to come in in a moment to question him; he had to think of something, and fast! Suddenly, an idea leapt to his mind. Of course! Why didn't he think of this earlier? Just pretend to be asleep! Obi decided that if either of them were to touch or shake him, he would pretend to wake up. It did make sense as usually he was a very light sleeper so even the slightest brush would cause him to open his eyes and ask what's going on, today just happened to be an exception to that rule. Anyway, he knew that the Master wouldn't be so hard on him because he wasn't late deliberately and Shirayuki would most likely say something to the effects of," _I think we should just let him rest, he must be exhausted."_

"Obi, we're coming in!" Zen announced, quietly turning the door handle to open the door.

The black haired boy snapped his eyes shut, but not too tight so that it would look forced and give him away, and just completely relaxed, forcing his entire body to go limp. Donning a neutral expression on his face, he released the grip on his sheets slightly. This was easy: he had done it before so that his target would get closer and lower their guard by quite a huge margin, giving his comrades the perfect chance to strike.

The door made a light thumping sound as it hit the side of the wall, permitting Zen and Shirayuki to enter their friends room. The prince looked around, highly bemused.

"I don't get it!" he said, forgetting that he needn't shout anymore, "Where is he?"

"Shhhhh!" Shirayuki whispered, putting a finger to her mouth, "Don't wake him up!"

The redhead gestured in front of her to where Obi lay, supposedly fast asleep. The only noticeable movement was the tiny rise and fall of his chest.

Zen raised an eyebrow, suspicious, "Yeah, but how do you know? He could be faking! That being said, I don't know how good of an actor he is!"

"Let's check then!" Shirayuki said, full of gusto from willing to prove him wrong, "And for goodness sake, keep your voice down!"

"Sorry…"

As if they were trying to roleplay as ninja, the two snuck to the other side of the bed to get a closer look. Upon further inspection, Obi most defiantly was asleep. His eyes were gently shut and his mouth was ever so slightly agape; his hands had lost grip of the bedsheet and you could hear very quiet snores. Shirayuki carefully reached her hand forward to push some his unkempt hair out of his face, accidentally brushing his smooth forehead in the process. She looked over to Zen with a sweet smile, who had a completely awestruck look on his face.

"This is really odd…" the Prince muttered in the quietest voice he could manage, "I mean, he looks so peaceful like this, doesn't he?"

"Yep," the girl replied, "I gotta agree with you there. You don't see this side of him often, so I could say this moment is quite rare. Still, do you suppose we should wake him up?"

Before Zen could reply, a series of quiet murmurs came from Obi, grabbing their gazes and attention. Curiosity overtook the both of them in an instant and they shut their mouths and started listening. What on earth could he possibly be mumbling about?

"I'll…. Shirayu…. save…you…. heh…. n…...proble…. I…. ov…...y…"

Zen smiled and turned his gaze to his red-haired companion,

"Awwwww," he teased softly, "He must be dreaming about you!"

"What makes you say that?" Shirayuki replied whilst her face was turning a brilliant scarlet to match her hair.

"He said your name, well, _tried_ to at least." Zen giggled, "It's kind of sweet!"

Shirayuki looked back at Obi, who now had a tiny, uncharacteristic smile on his face. Even though the boy couldn't see nor hear her, she beamed back at him and whispered,

"What exactly do you dream of, Obi?"

She heard a cheeky laugh from next to her, only to see Zen sitting there with a pen and a notebook, scribbling down _every single thing_ his friend said and did.

"Hehe… He's gonna enjoy this conversation when he wakes up!" the white haired boy sniggered mischievously.

It was at this moment Shirayuki realised that her question had not been answered as a result of getting distracted with Obi's unexpected sleep-talking.

"Ummm, Zen. You didn't answer my question earlier. Should we wake Obi up now?" She put her hands on her hips, "Besides, haven't you embarrassed him enough already?"

"Ha-ha, nope!" he responded instantly, shoving his pen and notebook into his pocket, "Wait a moment, last time I checked, he is a really wakeful sleeper, right? Shouldn't that accidental brush to the forehead have woken him up?"

"He's probably in a really deep sleep. I highly doubt something like that would wake him. Probably also the reason he was talking as well."

" _Whoops, I forgot about that!"_ Obi thought. Or, what he _would have_ thought if he was still actually conscious! As it turns out, the raven haired boy had gotten himself a tad too comfortable and relaxed, so he had nodded off before Zen had even seen him!

Abruptly, the sleeping boy sat up in his bed, his eyes still shut. He slowly got up and begun making his way towards the open window (succeeding in frightening a couple of birds that had been minding their own business). Shirayuki and Zen just shared confused glances at this. As if the morning hadn't been strange enough already!

"Ugh, Obi?" the Second Prince asked him, slowly edging towards the balcony where his friend now stood 'staring' out onto the trees, "What are you doing?"

When he didn't get a reply, he beckoned Shirayuki to come and investigate with him. He hung back whilst she positioned herself so she was standing directly before him. She realised that his eyes had now become small white slits and his head was hanging a little bit. The girl outwardly face palmed before grabbing the boy's arm and gently guiding him towards his bed.

"Honestly!" she grumbled, yet still with a caring tone in her voice, "Even when you're sleeping you still won't stop moving!"

Carefully and slowly, Shirayuki picked Obi up in a bridal position and laid him back down on his bed, tucking him in and placing a very gentle kiss on his cheek.

Meanwhile, Zen was scribbling away yet again in his little notebook, earning a very disapproving glance from the redhead. Once he realised that he had been caught, he grinned sheepishly and said,

"Come on, it's for all those times when he embarrassed me!"

Shirayuki let out a loud chuckle and sat on the bed next to Obi, sweetly stoking his hair and running her hands through it in an attempt to lull him out of his slumber. Luckily, it seemed to be working because he begun to move a little, gripping his hands onto her uniform and unconsciously hugging her. At this point, she didn't really care that Zen probably had two full pages of notes by now. Obi's furious wrath would be his problem to deal with.

"Shirayuki," the Prince called out to her, "I have to go and sign a bunch of papers, which is not going to be fun. Would you mind waking Obi up for me and then heading off back to work. You can explain the reason you're late and in the unlikely situation they don't believe you, get them to come and ask me, OK?

"Sure!" she replied as she watched him walk out the door and waited for it to close behind him.

"Go….ca…..Miss….defen….protect…..you….promise…."

The girl smiled. Obi was talking in his sleep again as she combed her hand through his jet black hair. She was hesitant to admit it, but her friend was really cute when he was sleeping. It just goes to show that underneath his cool and strong façade, he really was just as vulnerable and loving as the rest of them, despite the fact that he probably wouldn't like to admit it. Why else, she deduced, would he be talking exclusively about her, even more so, something akin to protection and saving her. It was secretly really flattering. Knowing that Obi contained all of these feelings for her really meant a lot. 

" _Aw, stupid!"_ She thought, realising she had let her mind wander elsewhere again, _"I should wake him up…"_

Firmly yet gracefully, she shook the boy's shoulder back and forth, watching as his golden eyes suddenly fluttered open. He yawned, sat up and smiled at Shirayuki who returned it without a moment of hesitation.

"Good morning Miss, how are you feeling today" Obi asked kindly, yawning once or twice afterwards.

"Very good, thank you!" she replied in bliss, "And you?"

"A bit drowsy, but otherwise good." He grinned with an unnoticeable blush crossing his cheeks, "By the way, is it still 10:00?"

Shirayuki blinked in amazement, "No, its 11:00. But how would you have any concept of time at all? I only just woke you up."

"From what little I can remember," Obi said in an overly philosophical manner, "I awoke at 10:00, I heard you and Zen knock on my door. I really wasn't in the mood for work today because I had a really late night and I was generally feeling groggy and bit rubbish. You and Zen called my name, but I didn't reply; all I wanted to do was just curl up into a ball and sleep. When you both walked in, I pretended to be asleep in a hope that nobody would bother me. I guess my exhaustion got the better of me and I remember dozing off before either of you said anything."

He yawned and rubbed his eyes, then snuggled into Shirayuki's side like a child, "I'm really tired Miss, I don't think I have the energy to work."

" _He's using my greatest weakness, guilt tripping."_ The girl thought as she started stoking his hair again without even thinking, _"He knows I can't say no to people who look or act vulnerable!"_

"Look, Obi, we all have to do things we don't want to do sometimes, alright? I'm don't think you have that much work today anyway, so once you're done you can do whatever you like." Shirayuki smiled at him, before gently saying, "If you really want me to, I can sing to you until you fall asleep once our shifts have finished, how does that sound?"

"Good." The boy replied in a quiet voice, "Your singing is really pretty."

"Thank you, that's really sweet!"

Shirayuki got up from the bed and grabbed Obi's hand to pull him off as well. Then, she started power walking towards the door (with Obi being tagged along for the ride, mind you), flinging it open like a mad woman and striding towards the herbalist wing of the castle. As quick as a flash, the two of them stood right outside the door to the room where Ryuu and Shirayuki usually worked.

"That's my stop!" the redhead said briskly, "See you tonight! In your room I presume?"

"Yeah!" the cat-eyed boy answered, scratching the back on his head, "I'll be right there, waiting for you. Don't be too late!"

"I won't!"

And with that, Shirayuki strode into the room without another word. She shot him a cheesy grin before the door slammed shut behind her, which made him smile sweetly back.

" _I suppose I should go to Master's office and see what I have to do today. God, he's gonna kill me…"_ Obi thought in dismay as he leapt out of the nearest window and swung from tree to tree like a monkey. He couldn't wait for that evening, where he would slowly be lulled into a peaceful slumber by the voice of a sweet maiden.

 **So there we have it guys and gals, we've reached the end of our story! I really hope you all enjoyed it! If you did, please do leave a review (they make me smile!) and if you really liked it, a favourite would be much appreciated! Well, that's all I have to say for now, so, see you next time! Bye!**


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